Dear Jamie in 1994,
Your friends just said something to you at the “back to school” dance that really hurt your feelings. It took you by such a surprise as well, and now you aren't sure whether to feel guilty or mad. As soon as you showed up you ran into a few friends and their first words were, “Wow Jamie we haven't seen you all summer, where did you go? It's like you fell off the face of the earth”. They weren't trying to mean, but their words stung so deep in your heart.
You see they are truthful. You did fall off the face of the earth. Actually you never left town, but you ditched your friends all summer so you could hang out with your boyfriend and his friends. New boy and new friends, all the while leaving your friends behind. For a guy.
I want to tell you that it's not worth it. Boys are not worth ditching your friends over. Ever. The hard thing that you don't know yet is that he's going to break your heart, and lucky for you, your friends will be there for you. He'll leave you in the dust as if the magical summer you had with him meant nothing and he'll get a new girlfriend faster than you can even dry your tears up.
I want you to know that in high school there's so much more out there than boys. This is one of the most fun times of your life, and if you consume it with boyfriends you will get to the end and only have stories of you and a guy and no memories of girlfriends staying up late giggling as girls are supposed to do in high school. You will consume your heart with boys and they will all break your heart. All of them. It's not worth it.
Now, get out on that dance floor and dance with your girlfriends. Apologize to them, and don't pour your life and heart out for a boy. It's never worth it in high school. Never.
Love,
Jamie in 2013
